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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 655 · 40 questions
TalentJR

Debater's tip (Relevant, specific, reliable): Relevant: does it talk about the topic of the motion? Specific: does it say exactly who, what, where or how many? “30 of 40 students” beats “lots of students”. Reliable: can we trust where it came from? Records, textbooks and official bodies beat rumours and unsigned posts.

NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 40
  1. 1.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) the city water board
  5. 5.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  7. 7.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  11. 11.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  24. 24.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  30. 30.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific

Answer key

  1. weak evidence
  2. weak evidence
  3. True
  4. the city water board
  5. False
  6. check where it came from
  7. 30 of 40 students
  8. not reliable
  9. strong evidence
  10. relevant and reliable
  11. True
  12. not relevant
  13. strong evidence
  14. True
  15. True
  16. False
  17. not reliable
  18. False
  19. True
  20. weak evidence
  21. True
  22. not specific
  23. not relevant
  24. False
  25. False
  26. not relevant
  27. weak evidence
  28. not specific
  29. not relevant
  30. True
  31. False
  32. True
  33. True
  34. False
  35. True
  36. False
  37. False
  38. strong evidence
  39. False
  40. not specific

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